Gerrard will go week by week with deadly duo
STEVEN GERRARD has told Alfredo Morelos and Jermain Defoe that neither will be assured of a starting place for Rangers this season after his in-form strike pair destroyed Hibernian.
Defoe, now 36, scored a hat-trick and his replacement, Morelos (right), got a late double as the Ibrox crowd witnessed a 6-1 win for the home side. Sheyi Ojo also found the target.
This was Rangers’ best performance against Hibs, so often a bogey side, since both returned to the Premiership on a day when the manager was delighted he had so many options upfront – although he hinted one more striker could come in.
Gerrard said: “It was always the plan to have two strikers as we do. That’s what I told Jermain when I got him here and why we wanted him at the club. For us to have success here, we can’t rely on one striker.
“For sure, you need two that are as good, hungry and dangerous as one another. They will have to understand that it’s horses for courses. Sometimes Jermain will suit an opposition and sometimes it will be Alfredo because he will suit.
“I need to make sure I get those decisions right. For sure, we are going to need both of them fighting if we are to have any ambitions of moving forward. There is maybe an argument that we need a third [striker] but we have other options who can play there.”
Defoe, voted man of the match, is 37 later this year but his manager does not believe this season will his swansong.
Gerrard said: “I get the age. But, for me, the important thing is how you feel. How old is your body? If you’ve never touched a drop of alcohol in your life and are as hungry as Jermain Defoe, age never comes into my thinking.
“I don’t think ‘he’s 36 so can’t start or play two games on the road’ I just think that I know this player, his hunger, his professionalism. He can score goals for Rangers for this season and, if I can predict, next season as well.”
Gerrard was happy with almost all of his team’s performance. Hibs did get themselves back into the game, Darryl Horgan scoring before halftime, and went down to 10 men when Sean Mackie was sent off, but this was a dominant performance by Rangers.
Gerrard said: “I am extremely pleased. Besides a 10-minute spell at the backend of the first half, I thought we were outstanding. We looked really dangerous going forward. That’s how I want us to look, to look like a threat all the time, getting people in one-versus-one position, strikers being clinical.
“Their defence has had a really